My background
Annmarie (and others new to the list): I've been an RN for about 14 years, and have been in Health Care for almost 20. My Bachelor's degree is in Community Health Education. I started my health career in hospital management/teaching roles, then went to Nursing School while working full time. I've been a Cardiac Nurse with emphasis on post-open hearts for all my nursing career, having worked primarily on a Telemetry unit as both a staff nurse and a charge nurse. I started this support group when I saw a critical need for support for patients who were being sent home 2 days post open heart. I could not believe that they were equipped enough to cope with the challenges of recovery and had to do something. That was 6+ years ago (Right, you original members?). We've grown from a humble group of about 12 brave folks to over 300 today. I'm the resident RN, yet my philosophy is that this is "their" group. I rarely "pipe up" unless directly asked a question, as the goal of this group is primarily support, and those who have experienced Bypass are far better equipped to do that than I. I'm here when a medical question pops up or just to be a cheerleader, but I enjoy my role in the background letting the great folks here help one another. I learn more from them than I could ever teach. Take care, Ann, RN (I sign all my posts this way as there is an Ann Bypasser and it gets confusing at times!)